Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
by enchantment1972
Summary: Good things come to those who wait and now the Doctor and Rose wish that they had. Unable to cope with Rose's family at the mansion any longer, the Doctor convinces Rose to move into their new home before the repairs are complete. With the hotel in such disarray, will The Oncoming Storm finally have to admit defeat? **Fifth of the Forever After series**
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** PMT is the British version of PMS. Also, my husband can't remember if there were any Sears stores when he left England, so for those who don't know what Sears is, it's a department store in America. He does assure me though, that a belfry is an annex to an attic in England.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who or Star Wars.

Rose's head jerks up at the sound of the hotel's front doors slamming shut. "The nerve of that woman!" shouts the Doctor as he stands in the entryway wearing his 'Sonic, Been There, Done That' t-shirt and carrying a box under one arm. "Who does she think she is?"

Rose looks back at him perplexed as she wipes her hands on her pants and rises off the floor. "What woman? You mean, Mum? Is she here?"

"No, not your mum! Some completely ignorant WPC that tried to have my car towed away because she thought it was an abandoned wreck!" He gives a snort of disgust at the memory. "Officer Pond! Perfect name for someone so wet behind the ears! She'd be better off as a kiss-o-gram!"

Seeing that his tirade would only continue if she didn't intervene, Rose soothes him by saying, "She obviously doesn't recognize a classic when she sees one." Watching his features soften, she seeks to distract him further and asks, "What's in the box?"

The argument with Officer Pond immediately forgotten, the Doctor's face lights up with pride to announce, "It's our baby TARDIS!"

"What?" gasps Rose in shock. "How on Earth…?" She peers into the box. "What is that?"

"I told you," declares the Doctor as he pulls a twelve inch replica of the actual TARDIS out of the box, "it's our baby TARDIS! We needed a mailbox so I carved this one out of coral with the sonic screwdriver. The ones in the stores are so boring."

Rose picks up the mailbox, admiring his handiwork from all sides and notices deep set concentric circles and swirly patterns etched around the top of the lid's trim. "Doctor, what are all of these symbols?"

"That," he explains as he traces each marking with his finger, "is Gallifreyan for our names and address."

"That's lovely, Doctor," replies Rose as she smiles indulgently. "Maybe it's just not quite right for our mailbox? We will want to receive mail. Unless, are you planning to add a feature that sounds like the TARDIS engines when we receive mail?" she questions teasingly.

She's afraid that she's offended him as he becomes very quiet and merely gives her a blank stare in response. Then suddenly without warning, he explodes. "What a brilliant concept, Rose! Why didn't I think of that? It wouldn't be difficult at all!"

He lifts the lid off of the mailbox and starts studying the interior. "Right here, I could…"

Rose simply rolls her eyes and shakes her head in response. She's about to return to her work when the Doctor glances over at her and inquires, "What are you doing?"

Rose lets out a sigh as she surveys the mess around her. "I'm trying to clean up the rest of the water from the leak upstairs," as she looks at him rather pointedly.

Finding the baby TARDIS incredibly fascinating at the moment, he asks rather distractedly, "Do you think we can persuade the plumber to come back? Perhaps, if I beg?"

Rose stares at him in total disbelief. "After the way you attacked him?" she retorts in exasperation. "I'll be grateful if he decides not to come after us in court!"

"Well, what do you expect, Rose? It's not entirely my fault! I've traveled through time and space for centuries saving countless races and civilizations by counteracting immediate threats! So when I see what I surmise to be the shadow of a Dalek plunger, I react accordingly!"

Having heard all of this before, Rose chooses to ignore his rant and comments, "Well, the library is completely flooded, it looks more like a swimming pool."

The Doctor smiles wistfully and says, "Yeah, it'll be nice to have a touch of the old homestead."

Rose pushes aside her confusion and continues, "The leak caused more damage than just a wet floor, it shorted out some of the wiring as well." She gazes at him hopefully and asks, "Are you sure that you don't want me to call an electrician?"

The Doctor shoots Rose an affronted glance before sniffing the air in disdain. "After working on the TARDIS, I think I can handle a bit of Earth wiring. Besides, with the prices that electricians charge, it would cost us an arm and a leg."

"How is your arm and leg, by the way?" inquires Rose with a faint trace of smugness.

"Oh, much better," replies the Doctor while inspecting both appendages. "Just a bit of singed hair. Who knew humans made such great conductors?"

A knock on the door brings a reprieve for the Doctor from yet another lecture on the hazards of electricity. The Doctor opens the door to a delivery man holding a large flat box. "Hello, my good man!" greets the Doctor. "And what brings you here today?"

The delivery man looks wearily at the Doctor and then down at the box. He presents the box to the Doctor and says, "This. It's for you."

The Doctor lights up when he sees the sender's name and off-handedly remarks, "Ah, yes, thank you. A man of few words. I like that. Very efficient."

The delivery man continues to wait expectantly as Rose walks over to stand alongside the Doctor, who is busy inspecting the package for any damage. Rose offers the man a smile before tugging on the Doctor's arm and whispering, "Doctor, it's customary to give a tip."

The Doctor's head pops up immediately in realization and embarrassment and he rambles, "Oh! Why, yes, of course. Please excuse my bad manners."

He hands Rose the package as he begins to dig around in his pockets. His expression and tone are both serious as he advises, "Stay away from Officer Pond!" before shutting the door in the man's still smiling face.

"Aha! Here it is!" exclaims the Doctor as he pulls the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and spins back around to find a speechless Rose still staring at the closed door. He waves his hand in front of her face and says, "Hello," to draw her attention back to him.

He takes the package from her and starts opening it with the sonic. "Just wait until you see this, Rose! I can't believe it's finally here! I've been waiting for this ever since I ordered it off of the website!"

Rose is caught up in the Doctor's enthusiasm and eagerly asks, "What is it?"

"A custom made doormat. A one of a kind, unique original, just like us," he answers with a smile aimed straight at her. He finally makes his way through the protective wrapping to claim his prize and she watches as his jaw goes slack just before hints of The Oncoming Storm appear in his eyes.

Rose automatically takes a step back from his burning gaze, even though it's never once wavered from the doormat. "Doctor," she questions tentatively, "what's wrong?"

"They've misspelled it," he grinds out between clenched teeth. He turns it around to show her the inaccurate welcome phrase 'HELL COME TO THE TYLER – SMITHS'.

The Doctor's shoulders slump in defeat as he lets out a sigh. "At least I hope it's a misspelling. The way this place is turning out, it could be a premonition."

"Depends," says Rose as she looks down at the floor. "Did you buy it at Seers?"

"Rose Tyler," growls the Doctor as he tosses aside the doormat. "That joke is so beneath you."

Rose glances at the doormat and deadpans, "Better that joke than that doormat."

The Doctor tugs at his hair and throws his arms out to his sides. "I'm serious, Rose! This place is a shambles! What are we going to do?"

Rose looks up at him with her tongue poking out from between her teeth and responds, "Check into a hotel?"

"Rose!" shouts the Doctor, completely exasperated at the sight of her doubled over with laughter.

With one final giggle, Rose manages to compose herself and says, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Just calm down. Remember, you're the one who wanted to move in before the renovation was complete because you felt trapped back at the mansion."

The Doctor crosses his arms and sulks at this reminder until Rose gives him a shrewd look and declares, "So either we're going to have to stay and tough it out or go running back home to my mother."

The Doctor looks horror-stricken at the very thought and quickly changes tact. He slowly approaches her as if she were a skittish foal and pleads, "Now, Rose, there's no need to be hasty. We just need to take a step back, take a deep calming breath and review the situation."

Rose is stunned as she watches him pace agitatedly around the room waving his arms around in an attempt to calm _her _down. "It's probably just the paint fumes causing all of this hysteria. I'll open a few windows, we can settle down, and everything will be just fine."

The window is stuck and the Doctor throws Rose a placating smile as she watches him struggle with it. He grunts, "I simply need to apply a little more of my weight in order to counteract the window's resistance and…"

The window promptly slides up with just enough force to pop the pane out of it's frame and shatter against the Doctor's feet. Rose's look of bemusement quickly turns to annoyance when he needlessly continues to try to pacify her with gentle tones. "No worries! Just relax and take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. I can fix this."

He starts flicking through various settings on the sonic when Rose stops him by placing her hand over his and tugging him away from the broken glass. He looks up at her worriedly as she places her other hand on his cheek to force him to meet her gaze.

"Doctor," she begins kindly, "you need to take your own advice. Everything is fine. This is not a problem. I'll call David in the morning and let him know that we'll need a few extra repairs."

"You mean McDonald, the construction supervisor?" His eyes narrow sharply and blaze with anger. "Oh, I don't think so. I don't want him here any more than necessary," he finishes in a cold tone.

Rose is completely taken aback by his change in attitude and asks, "Why? What's wrong with David?"

The Doctor gives her a look of utter disbelief and practically growls out his reply. "I've heard him flirting with you, Rose. You two and your little private discussions."

Rose's expression reflects her bewilderment as she questions, "Excuse me? What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about, Rose Tyler," he answers in a tone laced with accusation. "I overheard the two of you yesterday when he said that he wanted to check out your pipes. How he's an expert at handling massive equipment, that he could envision sparks between you and that he'd do his best to ensure it was just the way you liked it."

At first, Rose's only response is to blink twice at his statement before shaking her head slightly and telling him, "Doctor, we were discussing the placement of the generator in the basement. He doesn't want it to be installed too close to the plumbing. You know, the _water_ pipes?"

"Is that what they're calling it these days? Generator placement?" he asks, completely unfazed by her explanation. "I may not be able to regenerate anymore, Rose, but I can still generate just fine. He's not coming near you as long as I have breath in this body."

Rose stares at him and says, "Right. Now what's really going on? Is this part Donna? Because I don't remember you being this weird."

The Doctor sighs and rubs his hands over his face and replies, "No. It's just all the human hormones. They tend to hit me all at once like a freight train and I'm still having trouble adjusting to them. It's a bit like PMT."

Seeing Rose's incredulous look, the Doctor explains, "Not that PMT. Post Metacrisis Tension. I have all of the aggression but none of the bloating."

Rose's smile belies her apprehension and she nervously inquires, "Are you sure that's all it is? Are you sure that you're not regretting this? Staying here, with me?"

The Doctor is shocked and appalled at this assumption. "No, Rose," he denies vehemently. "No, no, no, no, no, no! I will **never** regret staying here with you! The only regret that I will always carry is all of the times that I held back what I felt for you. If I had only been honest with myself and you, we could have had this life together much sooner."

He grips her arms tightly seeking to reinforce every word. "I want this life with you, Rose Tyler. I **need **this life with you. I crave it so much that I will do anything that I need to do to make it possible. Even if it means living in this world's London version of the Winchester Mansion."

Rose's worries immediately dissipate into peals of laughter as she clutches the Doctor's hands in hers. "Oh, come on, Doctor," she says laughingly, "it's not that bad."

The Doctor puts on his famous puppy dog eyes and pouts, "It feels like it."

Rose loops her arms around the Doctor's neck and rests her forehead against his own. "Doctor, this can't just be," she bites her lip to keep from laughing, "PMT. If it's not our life together, then what is it?"

She pulls back as realization dawns on her. "Doctor! Is it homeowner's anxiety?"

The Doctor is only half listening through his worry and rambles in response. "No, I think I'm just worried about buying the hotel. This is a huge purchase, Rose! And unlike the car, this didn't cost me a song! It cost a lot of money and _**a mortgage!**_ Do you realize how many years that we're going to have to work to pay that off? We might as well start sucking up to Tony now because I'm pretty sure that he's going to end up being our boss!"

Rose's eyes close in relief as she rocks the Doctor back and forth in a tight embrace. Finally understanding the real problem, she speaks softly into his ear, "Doctor, that's pretty much the definition of homeowner's anxiety."

She leans back and gazes up at him with an impish grin. "Well, except for the Tony thing and don't worry about that. Tony practically worships the ground that you walk on. Besides, even thirty or forty years from now, I'll still be able to kick his butt."

At the Doctor's slight smile, Rose continues, "And we're not doing this all on our own, you know. We have an entire construction crew helping us. We're going to be fine."

The Doctor's smile begins to widen a little more. Rose tilts her head to the side and queries, "Is that a smile?" His grin grows even wider. "I think that's a smile," she teases.

The Doctor's bad mood vanishes with a laugh and he concedes, "Oh, fine, alright. We'll have some help, but not that McDonald fellow. Surely there must be someone else that we can call."

Rose thinks to herself, _MacGuyver?_ She looks at him curiously and asks instead, "Is this how you feel when you work on the Citreon?"

The Doctor stares at her in obvious confusion. "I'm not seeing the comparison, Rose."

_Of course not, _Rose mentally concludes, _the hotel's in better shape._

"Rose," the Doctor warns, "we've had this discussion before. Even though you're only thinking at me, I can still hear you."

"I know," replies Rose. "I just thought it would sound less snarky if I used my inside voice."

The Doctor rolls his eyes before pulling her hard against him, squeezing her tight. "Oh, Rose," he breathes out. "My precious Rose. What would I do without you? You've saved me yet again."

Rose tugs herself away from his grasp to declare proudly, "You know, it's kind of nice to be the one saving you for a change."

The Doctor cradles her face with his hand and strokes his thumb across her cheek. An expression mixed with awe and love meets her gaze as he murmurs, "You've been saving me for much longer than that, Rose Tyler. You simply haven't realized it yet."

A gentle kiss is shared before the Doctor's bum receives a swat from Rose. "Now," she says as she grabs his arms and pushes him away from her, "it's time to go back to work."

The Doctor's eyes smolder as his voice grows husky. "Are you sure that you don't want to play instead? We could christen the lobby and…" He glances down at the floor and his voice trails off into a frustrated sigh.

"Oh, never mind. I'm afraid that if I even think about ravishing you on the floor that we'll both fall straight through." He waggles his eyebrows and says, "You'll just have to wait until I set up the Zero Room."

Rose laughs and shakes her head. Pushing him further away from her, she gestures towards the radio sitting on the concierge desk. "Can you do me a favor and turn on the radio before you go upstairs? Bits of the Hits should be coming on any minute."

"Bits of the Hits? What's that?" inquires the Doctor.

"It's this world's radio version of Top of the Pops," answers Rose as she kneels down to resume her work.

The Doctor turns on the radio and reaches for something behind the concierge. "By the way, Rose, I found this old registrar earlier and I'm beginning to think that I've picked too common a name."

Rose shifts to look at the Doctor curiously. "I always thought you were aware that Smith was a very common surname. Take Mickey and Sarah Jane for instance."

The Doctor continues flipping through the guest book as he explains, "No, not just the surname, I mean the entire name. You would not believe how many John Smiths have registered here!"

Rose bites the inside of her cheek to prevent any laughter as she watches him put down the registrar. "Oh, well." He suddenly claps his hands together and announces with great enthusiasm, "Time to start setting up my new lab!"

Rose, hesitant to quash his excitement, tentatively asks, "Doctor, are you sure that you want to set up your lab in the belfry? It's going to take a lot of work to haul all of your equipment way up there."

"I know," he replies with unbridled glee, "but it's just too perfect! It's the closest room to the stars! Besides, what's my other option? The basement? There's no way that I'm keeping such delicate equipment down there. Not to mention, it's so stereotypical."

Rose merely looks at him quizzically and he gives her a slight look of disbelief. "A lab in a basement?" he questions. "Really, Rose? That's for characters like Dr. Frankenstein and Grandpa Munster. I'm not a mad scientist!"

Rose considers this statement while tapping her fingers against her mouth until she comes to a conclusion. "That's true, I suppose. You do tend to exhibit more of the mad and not so much of the scientist."

"Oi!" shouts the Doctor in an offended tone.

Rose giggles as he shoos him away. "Go on. Go work on your lab so that I can finish up here. And remember, "she says more gently, "just take it one step at a time and you'll be fine."

They share a smile before Rose returns to her unfinished task. She's interrupted mere moments later when her head swings around in response to a loud crack.

The Doctor is struggling on the stairway, his foot having crashed straight through a step. He looks over at Rose with an expression resembling a kicked puppy and she is quite chagrined as she offers, "Okay…so, maybe not that step?"

She gives him an encouraging smile and nods her head in the direction of the belfry. He returns her smile with one of his own and wears a look of brave acceptance as he makes his way up the stairs, albeit treading carefully.

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** A HUGE shout out to scifigeekgirl and to her story, "Do Not Sonic The Action Figures" and her Lordstorm and His LiveJournal Adventures series. It is because of her generosity that I am able to use her idea regarding the Nestene Conscious and give a little wink and nod to Lordstorm in my story. Please read her story and series, both are absolutely hysterical and SO very Doctor. :)

**Please read this, important to story:** If you are not familiar with Midol, it is a pharmaceutical remedy used to alleviate PMS/ PMT. I don't know which of these two characters would benefit from it more in this chapter. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who or Star Wars.

Three productive and uneventful hours later, Rose surveys the spotless lobby with pride, grateful that the downstairs water damage had been minimal. She stretches her arms above her head, seeking to relieve some of the tension in her back, when she hears the Doctor screaming as he runs down the stairs at full speed.

"Bats! Bats! Bats!" shouts the Doctor at the top of his lungs while he avoids the broken step by jumping over the banister. In an instant, he's standing in front of her and gripping her shoulders before she can even make a move towards him. "Bats! Bats! We have bats in our belfry, Rose!"

Rose, still shell shocked by his sudden appearance breaks his hold and places her hands on his chest. "Okay, okay, take a deep breath and try to calm down. We can handle them, Doctor. We deal with alien threats all of the time so a few bats should be no problem."

The Doctor stiffens in anger, both his gaze and posture radiating barely controlled fury. "Normally," he grinds out, "I would agree with you. Unfortunately, these bats aren't going to calmly sit back and allow us to remove them from their current residence. At least, not since Han Solo and Princess Leia started shooting at them with their laser pistols!"

Rose's fists clench in the Doctor's t-shirt in shock. "Is that where they went? No wonder I couldn't find the little buggers!"

The Doctor's temper finally boils over and he yells, "_Little buggers?_ More like little terrorists! You should see the chaos up there, Rose! We won't even be able to set foot up there without being attacked by screeching bats or shot at, and don't even get me started on the amount of guano that exits a bat when something basically electrocutes its nervous system!"

Rose releases her grip on his shirt to shove him away from her. "Well don't get upset with me! I'm not the one who wanted to sonic Tony's action figures to life just because you discovered that the plastic in Pete's World is a cousin to the Nestene Conscious!"

Rose mimics the Doctor as she reminds him, "It's important to know what we're dealing with Rose, no matter how passive it's been in the past. We'll simply run an experiment with a few of Tony's Star Wars figures. He'll never even know and ooohh, do you think that it could work on the Millenium Falcon as well?"

The Doctor is still upset, if not slightly admonished, and plunders on, "Well, yeah, but we wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for you! I wasn't the one who kicked Han Solo across the room!"

Rose reels back with a gasp, her own temper rising to meet his and shout, "He deserved it! Did you see what he did to Leia? When you tried to pick her up and she thought you were attacking her, she mouthed 'I love you' to him and what did he do? I'll tell you what he did! He mouthed back 'I know'!"

The Doctor, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable in the presence of an angry Tyler woman, took a step back for each step that Rose took towards him.

"What kind of crap response is that? The woman he supposedly," Rose pauses to gesture with air quotes, " 'loves' gives him a heartfelt declaration straight from her soul in what she perceives as their final moments together! And what does he do? He returns that gut wrenching sentiment with the totally, **unfeeling, cutting, off the cuff **remark of 'I know? Who in their right mind does that?"

The Doctor immediately makes the connection to their first goodbye at Bad Wolf Bay and stumbles for the words that will allow him to find his footing in this conversation. Unfortunately, he trips up and utters, "Quite right too."

When Rose's eyes seem to spark with gold, the Doctor promptly backpedals into a babbling frenzy. "I meant quite right too as when you sent that cur sailing across the room! And it was really touching the way Leia high-fived your finger when you defended her honor!"

Slowly turning and making his way backwards to the staircase, all the while maintaining constant eye contact with Rose, he offers with a smile, "Perhaps I should go to work setting up our bedroom for tonight or maybe make a snack? I'm an expert when it comes to French tarts!"

The spark in Rose's eyes grows into a golden glow and the Doctor has a momentary flash of riding a horse through a time window. "I meant eating French tarts!" he blurts out. Quickly realizing how this statement could be perceived, he adds, "You know, because of my oral fixation!"

His own eyes widening at his latest declaration, he runs his hands through his hair and manages to tug it in every possible direction. "I mean…oh, bloody hell! Damn PMT! Maybe I can invent something for it…like MiDonnal!"

Any reassurance that the Doctor was hoping to find died a quick death when he chanced a glance at Rose. With her hands on her hips, her rigid stance and a glare that would rival Jackie Tyler, he knew that even the lost option of regeneration wouldn't be enough to save him.

_Oh, Dear Rassilon, _he thought to himself. _She looks exactly like her mother right now. Please tell me that this is just a panic attack and that I'm not seeing possible timelines._

In a voice echoing his own previous fury, Rose seethes, "I'd go and wipe that guano off of your shoes, Doctor. Because you have really stepped in it."

The Doctor nods his head in firm agreement and says, "Quite ri…I mean, you are absolutely correct. Correctamundo! Oh, I really need to quit saying that."

Sensing this was the best time to make good his escape, the Doctor takes a running leap back over the banister and dashes up the stairs. When he reaches the safety of the second floor landing, he turns to look down at Rose and says hurriedly, "I'll just go and start working on our bedroom now. Sorry to be such a daft git. I love you. Bye."

Watching him disappear with a roll of her eyes and a huff of exasperation, Rose decides to head off to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. And maybe a snack. But absolutely, definitely, without a doubt, **no **French tarts.

************Five and a half hours later************

Rose has just finished cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom and is heading off to find the Doctor to see what he wants for tea. She's about to step foot on the stairs when she happens to look up and see a white handkerchief tied to a broom handle waving back and forth over the upstairs railing.

The Doctor pops his head around the corner of the upstairs corridor and calls down, "I come in peace! Is it safe?"

Rose steps away from the stairs to laughingly answer, "As safe as houses!" A glimpse of the broken step out of the corner of her eye has her thinking, _Well, not our house._ She smiles broadly and waves him down to her. "Come on down!"

His manic grin meets her gaze before he practically flies down the stairs with a speed and agility that would make any swashbuckler envious. He stands before her in a dramatic pose, feeling so impressive and then it hits him. Literally.

**To be concluded…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Once again, a HUGE shout out to scifigeekgirl and to her story, "Do Not Sonic The Action Figures" and her Lordstorm and His LiveJournal Adventures series. It is because of her generosity that I am able to use her idea regarding the Nestene Conscious and give a little wink and nod to Lordstorm in my story. Please read her story and series, both are absolutely hysterical and SO very Doctor. :)

I am so very sorry for the delay on this last chapter. I only had to type it out when I became very ill. Thank you Kindergarten! LOL! I'm still sick but I wanted to post this and start on the other two story ideas that it gave me for this series. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who or Star Wars.

_**Previous Chapter:**_

_************Five and a half hours later************_

_**Rose has just finished cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom and is heading off to find the Doctor to see what he wants for tea. She's about to step foot on the stairs when she happens to look up and see a white handkerchief tied to a broom handle waving back and forth over the upstairs railing.**_

_**The Doctor pops his head around the corner of the upstairs corridor and calls down, "I come in peace! Is it safe?"**_

_**Rose steps away from the stairs to laughingly answer, "As safe as houses!" A glimpse of the broken step out of the corner of her eye has her thinking, Well, not our house. She smiles broadly and waves him down to her. "Come on down!"**_

_**His manic grin meets her gaze before he practically flies down the stairs with a speed and agility that would make any swashbuckler envious. He stands before her in a dramatic pose, feeling so impressive and then it hits him. Literally.**_

Plop! Plop! The Doctor dips his fingers into the white liquid that dripped onto his shirt and thrusts his glasses onto his face as he brings the substance closer for inspection. "Don't lick it!" cautions Rose.

The Doctor throws an affronted glare at Rose as he replies, "I wasn't going to lick it! I was trying to discern its origin! What do you take me for, a two year old?"

Rose throws her hands up in a defensive gesture. "You were the one going on about your oral fixation! Besides, I can tell you exactly what it is and where it came from, no taste test required."

The Doctor's look and tone are both condescending as he retorts, "Oh, really? Well then why don't you enlighten me, Sunshine?"

Rose ignores the Doctor's gibe and tries her best to maintain her composure as she points upwards and replies, "Let's just say that you never know how lucky you are until it hits you, Doctor."

He looks up to see two owls blinking back at them. "How the hell did they get in here?"

Rose's gaze shoots upwards as she answers, "I'm guessing through the open window. I'd move if I were you, by the way. Incoming."

The Doctor's head snaps down to look at her in bewilderment as he asks, "What? What are you…oh, sh*t!"

"Yes, Doctor," comments Rose, barely containing her mirth. "I think we've already established that. The real question is, what are we going to do with them?"

The Doctor picks up a discarded rag as he begins scrubbing away at his t-shirt and he answers her distractedly. "I don't know. They're not exactly the pair of hooters that I was planning on attending to tonight."

Rose laughs outright in response and swats his arm. "What?" he scoffs in disbelief. "Do you want me to try to talk to them?" The Doctor sticks his hands in his pockets, rocks back on his heels and gazes up at the birds as he introduces himself. "Hello, I'm the Doctor." A soft "hoo" is his reply.

"Doctor?" asks Rose. "Hoo," call out the owls. "Doctor!" repeats Rose. "Hoo," the owls answer her again.

The Doctor chuckles softly to himself as he continues watching the owls. "I'm sorry, Rose. It's just that never gets old."

With a slight quirk of her lips and a bump to his shoulder, Rose asks, "What do we do about the owls, Doctor?"

He considers this as he tugs on his ear and before concluding, "Well, any animal services will be closed by now. We'll just have to hope they fly back out the window."

"And if they don't?" inquires Rose with great interest.

The Doctor's eyes twinkle with mischief and he answers her back cheekily, "Then we'll just have to go to Diagon Alley for some owl treats."

"Doctor!" laughs Rose. "I'm serious!"

The Doctor flashes a wide smile and pulls her into a hug. "I know. We'll figure it out in the morning if they're still here."

Rose snuggles happily into his embrace but is simultaneously riddled with curiosity. "Doctor," she hesitatingly inquires, anxious that she'll ruin his good mood. "You seem a lot happier than you were before. What's happened?"

"The unexpected, Rose!" he declares with exuberance while he gestures upwards at the owls. "Something wondrous and completely unexpected has dropped into our lives!" He shoots a rueful glance down at his t-shirt. "Literally." Suddenly, he is beaming again. "Isn't it great?"

Rose's returning smile rivals his own. She is thrilled to witness the Doctor still being able to find his own idea of adventure in their life together on the slow path.

"Now," he grabs her by the hand and drags her towards the stairs, "let's go to the bedroom!"

"Wow!" replies Rose, impressed by his over eager enthusiasm. "You must be really keen to have make-up sex!"

The Doctor looks back at her over his shoulder in confusion and asks, "What? No!" Rose's hand starts to slip out of his grip in surprise and he quickly tightens his grasp around her hand.

The Doctor squeezes her hand and tries again, speaking gently, "I mean…no. Not for make-up sex. I want to show you what I've done with our bedroom!"

He starts to tug her back towards the stairs when he stops dead in his tracks and whirls around to face her. "Wait a minute. Do we need to have make-up sex? Are we still fighting?"

Rose feigns innocence with her reply. "I don't know, are we?"

The Doctor attempts to assess her temperament and finally answers with a slightly unsure yet still manly, "No. No, I don't think so. In fact, I'm positive that we're not still fighting. What I am unsure of however, is **why** am I trying to talk myself out of make-up sex?"

He begins hitting the palm of his hand against his forehead repeatedly as he berates himself. "Bad Doctor! Stupid Time Lord tendencies! Listen to the human hormones!"

Rose's giggles taper off as she grabs the Doctor's hand to lead him upstairs. "Come on, Doctor. Bedroom."

The Doctor's smile widens as he gazes at her hopefully. "Really? Now?"

"Noooo." drawls Rose. "Not **that **right now. Later. Right now, I want to see how you've fixed up the bedroom."

As she runs up the stairs, the Doctor watches her go with a sigh and a shake of his head. A smirk then dawns on his face as he thinks, _Yep. Still got it._

He sprints up the stairs after her to find her staring at the door to Room 1019, which happens to be hanging off of its hinges.

She turns to him in complete befuddlement and questions, "What happened?"

He shoves one hand deep into his pocket while he runs the other one through his hair. He looks at her over the rims of his glasses. "Well, it wasn't quite the room for us that I was hoping that it would be."

He points to the bits of ruin around the room. "As you can see, there's some water damage seeping out from the en suite and over there, bits of the ceiling have fallen in exposing all of the frayed wiring."

With both hands now resting in the pockets of his jeans, he leans against the door jam and tells her, "Now, I was more than willing to apply some jiggery pokery, especially when you displayed your enthusiasm by covering the bed with a large array of chocolate mints."

Rose's brow furrows as she darts him a suspicious glance and states, "I didn't throw any chocolates on the bed, Doctor."

The Doctor shuts his eyes tight before looking back at her with a grim expression. "Yes. I know that now, Rose. I actually realized it at the same moment that I noticed the mints were moving across the bed. Until then, I wasn't aware that cockroaches came in that color."

Rose jumps away from the doorway in horror and disgust while searching for their home's latest invaders. She practically jumps out of her skin when the Doctor lays a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he soothes. "They're gone. Han and Leia took out most of them and I killed the rest. I think we need to add an exterminator to our list of assistants."

Rose leans back into the Doctor, obviously disappointed. "But 1019 was going to be our special room," she says downcast. The number 10 because you're the Tenth Doctor and 19 for when I met you."

The Doctor puts his arms around her and rests his head on her shoulder. "I know," he murmurs consolingly. "But once I put some more thought into it, I found an even better room."

He takes her by the hand and they walk down the hall until they reach Room 1024. Rose's face brightens when she realizes the importance of the number. She turns to the Doctor and verifies, "The 10 is for you and 24 is for how old I am now?"

He nods in agreement. "For when we begin our new life together." The look on her face fills his heart with love.

She squeezes his hand tight while running her other hand across the number plate on the door and murmuring, "It's perfect."

He dips into a deep bow and says, "My lady," as he bids her to enter their room.

Rose walks through the doorway and is surprised to see not only how immaculate it is, but how everything is arranged exactly as they had discussed the night before. "Oh, Doctor!" exclaims Rose. "It's so clean and free of roaches!"

The Doctor grins broadly and rubs the back of his neck. "Well, that wasn't the precise reaction that I was going for, but I'll take it."

Rose smiles as he makes her way over to the four poster bed that they found at a flea market. She takes note of the Gallifreyan landscaping that he had carved into the headboard with the sonic screwdriver along with a trail of vines and leaves on the bedposts.

The Doctor comes over to stand beside her and produces a smaller sonic screwdriver from his pocket. He twirls it between his fingertips and proceeds to wave it in the air with a flourish before presenting it to her.

Rose's face lights up even more. "Is that for me? Did you make me my own sonic?"

The Doctor appears a bit sheepish as he answers, "No. Sorry. I didn't think of that actually. Maybe next time?" He indicates the various buttons and dials on the sonic and encourages her to try out some of the settings.

Rose gives him a nervous glance before spinning a dial and pushing a shiny red button. Instantly, the wall across from the bed pulls apart to reveal what seems to be a giant computer.

Stunned, Rose turns to look at the Doctor with a wide eyed stare and inquires, "Doctor…what on Earth…?"

The Doctor throws his arms up in the air and announces, "It's our new home entertainment center, Rose! Don't you love it? It has a home theater system as well as a computer that I built myself!"

His face wears a smug smirk as he boasts, "It easily rivals any of Torchwood's rather antiquated equipment. Plus, it runs on DASL!"

Rose queries, "DASL?"

The Doctor bounces on his heels and proudly proclaims, "Doctor Approved Sonic Lightspeed! It runs off of sonic energy, just like our car, so it's thousands of times faster than regular internet speed!"

His mood quickly changes to one of the authoritarian Time Lord that appears only in the gravest danger and circumstances. He fixes her with his most intent stare and tells her, **very** seriously, "Do **not** tell your mother about this."

Rose merely stands there gaping at her. _Her mother?_ She was expecting a much greater warning for a much more dire threat. _Although to be fair…_

"Why ever not?" questions Rose. "What would my mum possibly want with your computer?"

He removes his glasses and shoves them into his pocket and rubs the bridge of his nose. "I do not want to find your mother cruising the internet for Lordstorm stories."

Rose laughed out loud. "Lordstorm? How do you know about Lordstorm? I would have thought he was too naughty, even for you."

"What? Absolutely not!" denies the Doctor. "In fact, he's almost as brilliant as I am!" A filthy smirk graces his features as he opines, "Although, he's definitely not as creative. He's never written about anything sonic."

Rose's eyebrow arches in surprise at this admission, but it's her turn to shock him when she informs him, "Then somebody hasn't read the story about the sonic pirate rubber ducky."

The Doctor's jaw nearly drops to the floor. "What? When did that one come out?" He shakes his head to focus his thoughts and points at Rose while saying, "Never mind. That's not the point. The point is that I don't want your mother reading those kinds of stories in _our _home."

Rose tilts her head to the side as she wonders aloud, "Doctor, how exactly did you discover that my mum reads Lordstorm?"

The Doctor gives a slight shudder and seeks to avoid her gaze. "Let's just say that that's another story."

Acquiescing to his unspoken request to change the subject, Rose turns back to the computer console, still experiencing some mild astonishment. "It comes out of the wall," she says in amazement. That's not exactly normal D-I-Y."

He continues to demonstrate numerous settings as he replies, "Sarah Jane gave me the idea when she told me about Mr. Smith. It's fantastic isn't it?" He asks the question reminiscent with a grin of her Ninth Doctor.

He pockets the sonic as he passes a gift bag to Rose. "Here. This is from Pete. He bought us some more movies as a house warming present. That's why I needed to set up the E.T.."

A low chuckle escapes him. "Hmmm. E.T. like for extraterrestrial but for entertainment center. Heh. That's kind of funny."

Rose rolls her eyes in response and bites back a laugh when she sees the titles of the movies: The Money Pit, Mr. Blandings Builds A Dreamhouse, Moving and Are We Done Yet?

"You have to love dad's sense of humor," remarks Rose. "It makes sense though, he's the first one to receive reports on the renovation's progress after that hullabaloo over the building permit."

The Doctor shoots her a withering glare at _that_ particular memory. Although miffed, he promptly states in a satisfied tone, "I may have cocked up the building permit, but I **know**," he steps aside to reveal his other surprise laid out on a small table, "you'll love this!"

Rose runs over to the table and is practically glowing as she inhales deeply and gushes, "Chips! Ooohhh! Steaming, hot fish and chips wrapped in newspaper!"

She darts over to the Doctor, kissing him soundly and hugging him tight. "This is the best surprise ever!" She pulls away to ask, "How did you get them? I never saw you leave the hotel."

The Doctor rests his linked hands at the small of her back and crows, "Well, you wouldn't have, would you? I went out the window and down the fire escape so I could surprise you!"

He suddenly picks her up and starts spinning her around while shouting, "Surprise! This is it, Rose! The start of our life together! Life on the slow path! The doormat, the bats and the cockroaches, those are just the bits in between!"

They stay there laughing for quite some time, while Rose kicks out her legs as he swings her back and forth.

Finally, they calm down and just stand there, gazing into each other's eyes. Their eyes slowly close and they begin to press against each other, their lips about to meet…when the Millenium Falcon zooms past their heads.

The Doctor's eyes go wide with realization and Rose's face twists into a grimace. He looks off to the side to avoid her accusatory stare and says, "Well, apparently the sonic works on vehicles after all. Something else to bring to Torchwood's attention, I suppose."

A shower of sparks explodes over their heads and they are plunged into darkness when the Millenium Falcon knocks into the lamp hanging overhead before flying back out of the room.

The Doctor rests his forehead against Rose's and pleads, "Please tell me that was fireworks."

Taking pity on him, she places her hand on the back of his neck and tugs him closer. She purrs, "Not yet," before pulling him down into a kiss and slowly walking them backwards to the bed.

It's loving and it's passionate and lasting, just like them. It's perfect. Right up until the point where the four poster crashes to the floor.

The Doctor's muttered, "Oh, bugger," sends Rose into a fit of laughter that he is unable to resist.

Soon, the laughter subsides and touches and kisses once again grow more heated and intent. And the next time that they fall, it isn't because of broken furniture.

**The End**


End file.
